ARCHAEOLOGICAL CAMPAIGN AUXILIARY CASTLE OF BOLOGA
October 7-23, 2024
Excavation campaign at the praetorium building. The archaeological site is located in Poieni commune, Cluj county.
- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH CAMPAIGN – ULPIA TRAIANA SARMIZEGETUSA
TUESDAY-TUESDAY, August TUESDAY
Archaeological research campaign – Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa (entrance gate to the forum – Propylene / the financial prosecutor's palace – Procurator's House / entrance area to the archaeological site of Sarmizegetusa)

- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
PREVENTIVE EXCAVATION CARRIED OUT IN THE IL CARAGIALE PARK IN CLUJ-NAPOCA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARK'S REHABILITATION
until August 30, 2024
Following the rehabilitation works concerning the areas IL Caragiale Park and the streets in its vicinity have been surveyed from an archaeological point of view. Following the investigations started in January 2024, several historical masonry structures belonging to the Roman, medieval and modern eras have been revealed.
For the Roman era, in addition to the ceramic material and reused architectural fragments, we can mention that a large building and the enclosure wall with part of the elevation at one point were partially discovered. The medieval wall overlaps the Roman one, but also notable is the partial discovery of a gate on the northern side mentioned in documents in the 15th century, but at the time of the discovery, later restorations were also found. For the modern era, we can mainly mention the partial discovery of the walls of a brewery and a correctional school that were located in the park area in the 19th century. The latter are documented and also appear in photographs of the time. Portions of the Roman and medieval walls, given the very good state of conservation, will be restored and put into historical and archaeological value within the park, and they can be visited by the interested public.
Scientific manager of the construction site, Dr. George Cupcea, in collaboration with Dr. Cosmin Onofrei and Dr. Viorica Rusu-Bolindeț (MNIT), Dr. Sorin Cociș (Institute of Archaeology and Art History, Academy Branch, Cluj-Napoca), Dr. Radu Lupescu (Sapietia University, Cluj-Napoca), Todika Raul, Necșe Karina, Csaba Danél. Beneficiary: Cluj-Napoca City Hall, contractor: construction company SC NordConForest SA. For additional information see:https://www.rfi.fr/ro/rom%C3%A2nia/20240313-zid-din-perioada-imperiului-roman-descoperit-la-cluj-napoca

- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
ARCHAEOLOGICAL CAMPAIGN THE DACIANS FORTRESSES IN THE ORASTIA MOUNTAINS
June – September 2024
During this period, systematic archaeological research was carried out at Grădiștea de Munte – Sarmizegetusa Regia, Luncani – Piatra Roșie and Costești-Cetățuie.
At Sarmizegetusa Regia, excavations continued on the 9th terrace, part of the sanctuary, discovering vestiges of various constructions erected here in Dacian antiquity (the temple of the alignment type, the retaining wall, structures with a delimiting role, etc.).
At Piatra Roșie, research targeted the fortification plateau, to document the temple and the building, identified during the excavations coordinated by Constantin Daicoviciu, in 1949.
At Costești-Cetățuie, the resumption of excavations had a remarkable result, with the limestone foundations of a cult edifice unknown until now being discovered on one of the southeastern terraces of the hill.
The research was funded by the Ministry of Culture and the Hunedoara County Council, and the team was composed of archaeologists and students from the National Museum of Transylvanian History, Babeş-Bolyai University, the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization, the Mureş County Museum, and the "Vasile Pârvan" Institute of Archaeology.



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COVASNA ARCHAEOLOGICAL CAMPAIGN – THE FAIRY CITIES
August-October 2024
Archaeological site Covasna – Citadel of the Fairies is located on the outskirts of Covasna, on the Citadel Hill. The most numerous discoveries at the site belong to the Dacian Kingdom era (a fortified fortress with stone, clay and wood walls, organized on at least four terraces), but materials dating back to the Bronze Age or the Middle Ages were also discovered. The 2024 campaign took place both inside the fortified area, on Terrace II, and outside it, on the saddle connecting the Citadel Hill with the neighboring peaks, where the ancient access road probably passed.
On Terrace II, near the wall and the bastion here, two Dacian edifices with a roof supported by wooden pillars arranged in three or four rows were identified in previous campaigns. Neither of these edifices has been fully outlined, as a result of which their functionality remains uncertain for the time being. The two edifices could be temples, of the type with alignments of columns, but another functionality, civil or military, cannot be ruled out. In 2024, the western area of Edifici II was investigated in particular in an attempt to establish its limit, which was successful. The edifice was delimited here by a vein of native rock, probably visible in antiquity as well, to the west of which no traces of pillars were identified. As a result, until now Edifici II has been delimited on three sides, to the south (the wall of Terrace II), east (rock) and west (rock). Research will continue in the next campaigns to the north, to establish the limit of the building here as well. Given that the excavation was mainly in the foundation of the building, few materials were found, especially ceramic fragments.
A new research sector was opened in 2023 along the route of the possible access road to the fortress, where excavations continued in 2024. So far, no ancient complex has been identified and no archaeological materials have been discovered, but the research is just beginning.

- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
CLUJ UNDERGROUNDS
from December 16 on the "10×10" Installation, on the Boulevard of Heroes.
Because our roads through Cluj were beaten by others before us. And, in order to understand the "surface layer", it is necessary to go down in depth. that's what archeology does.
This gallery presents the results of the archaeological research carried out in Cluj-Napoca by the specialists of the National History Museum of Transylvania, in the last decade and a half.
The multi-millenary history of the settlement on this site is illustrated since prehistoric times, since then a unique Neolithic tomb has been noted.
It passes through the Roman period of the city of Napoca, from which we have preserved an impressive number of private or public buildings, as well as the network of roads and fragments of the western and southern precincts, sometimes overlapped by the medieval one.
The Middle Ages are visible in several places, among which stands out the church of St. Michael with its oldest phases and the adjacent cemetery, and the Modern Age is visible through a series of structures that brought the city closer to the form in which it exists in these times.
The archaeological heritage of Cluj is very rich and varied and is a public asset of the entire community. It is our duty to research it, protect it and make the best use of it, because it is part of our heritage.
Pleasant trip through the "tunnel" that will bring you the inside of local history!
- Published in PAST EXHIBITIONS
RESEARCH IN THE ENCLOSURE OF BOLOGA CASTLE, 2023
The Gate Restoration Project the praetorium (northern) of the Bologa camp, financed by PNRR - Ruta castrelor, gave the opportunity to preventive research on the northern enclosure, more than 4 decades after those carried out by N. Gudea, carried out in the months of June-July and October.
The results were very interesting, as at least two phases of the enclosure were revealed. The first, the wooden phase, featured a mound of earth on the crest of which stood a wooden palisade, and which had two "V" ditches in front. On the surface of the wave, traces of wooden structures on pillars were also identified, which could have been part of the gate or gate tower installations. The stone face already has a stone enclosure wall, 1,40 m wide, and two very wide ditches in front (5 and 7 m respectively). Also at this stage, the gate, with its two stone towers, will have been blocked, at some point, to restrict traffic on this route.
The research helped us to better understand the functioning of the castle enclosure and the stratigraphic sequence of the site in general.

- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
PREVENTIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH GILAUU, JUD. CLUJ
Between March and June 2023, the archaeological research was resumed and completed within the project for the rehabilitation of the Barcsay-Bánffy Castle in Gilău. Excavations in 2023 affected the area in front of the eastern wing of the castle and identified elements of the defensive system as well as traces of a building.
As part of the rehabilitation project of the Barcsay-Bánffy Castle in Gilău, the preventive archaeological excavations initiated in previous years were continued and completed. The castle is located in the immediate vicinity of the auxiliary Roman cavalry fort, where it was stationed that of Siliana. The first mention of the fortress dates from 1428, when it was the property of the bishop of Transylvania. Regarding the buildings from the Middle Ages, we have only a few sporadic documentary data, respectively some late Renaissance architectural elements. Much better documented is the early modern era, primarily the renovations initiated in 1639 by Prince György Rákóczi I. Following these, the buildings in the medieval fortress courtyard were demolished, and the newly built ones were glued to the enclosure wall, thus transforming the fortress medieval in a quadrangular castle with four wings and a tower in each of the four corners. The castle was surrounded by a wide defensive moat. After this period of prosperity, during the uprising led by Francis Rákóczi II, the castle, then owned by the Bánffy family, was besieged several times and then left in ruins. The last reconstruction took place in the XNUMXth century, when the defense ditch was also plugged.
Research in the spring-summer of 2023 was carried out east of the castle. In front of the north-eastern and south-eastern towers, the defensive moat and its counter-escarpment wall that surrounded the castle were discovered, having been identified at several points during previous research. In front of the large ditch, another smaller ditch, parallel to it, was discovered at both mentioned points. At approx. 30 m east of the east wing of the castle was identified the corner of a stone-walled building, probably of the late medieval - early modern period. Clarification of its timeline and functionality requires further research in the future.
- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
SYSTEMATIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH NOŞLAC (ALBA COUNTY)
Between July 24 and August 11, 2023, the systematic archaeological research campaign took place in the cemetery from the Avar era (VI–IX centuries) from Noșlac, organized as part of an international project. Students from Cluj-Napoca and Budapest participated in the excavations.
Within the international project "Production, redistribution and society in the early medieval Middle Danube Basin. Tracing the local in the emerging European world system (7th-11th centuries AD)" the archaeological excavations were resumed in the cemetery from the Avar era in Noșlac (Alba county). The first investigations took place at the beginning of the 1960s, when more than 124 graves were discovered, most of them dated to the Avar era (end of the 2023th century - beginning of the 24th century). The 11 campaign took place between July 15 and August XNUMX, with the participation of students from the "Babeș-Bolyai" University in Cluj-Napoca and the "Eötvös Loránd" University in Budapest, who did the internship in this archaeological excavation. XNUMX tombs from the Avar era were identified and researched, as well as several prehistoric complexes. Research will continue next year.
Partner institutions: Hungarian National Museum, Budapest; "Eötvös Loránd" University, Budapest; Institute of Archeology and Art History, Cluj-Napoca; The National History Museum of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca; "Vasile Pârvan" Archeology Institute, Bucharest; National Museum of Alba Iulia Union, Institute of Archeology of Charles University, Prague
- Published in ARCHEOLOGY
SYSTEMATIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH FROM THE GRĂDIȘTEA DE MUNTE – SARMIZEGETUSA REGIA,
In the months of August - September, a new campaign of systematic archaeological research was carried out in the Grădiștea de Munte site - Sarmizegetusa Regia (Hunedoara county).
During the mentioned period, the excavations on the 9th terrace, in the perimeter of the sanctuary, were extended, where the vestiges of a temple of the alignment type were discovered in previous years. In the recent campaign, limestone bases and arrangements detailing the planimetry of the religious edifice were identified.
At the same time, information was obtained regarding the edifice from the first phase that ended in a fire and whose remains were spread over a very large area (hundreds of square meters).
The research was funded by the Hunedoara County Council and the Ministry of Culture, and the team was composed of archaeologists and students from the National History Museum of Transylvania, Babeş-Bolyai University, the Dacian and Roman Civilization Museum, the Mureş County Museum.


- Published in ARCHEOLOGY